What Happened to Midnight Crew? The Full Story of Nigeria’s Famous Gospel Quartet - Where They Are Now

                                                                                                                                                                    

If you grew up in Nigeria in the 2000s and attended any church, gospel concert, family gathering, or any Christmas service anywhere in the country, you know the song: “Igwe, Igwe, Igwe…”

It is one of those songs that does not simply stay in your ears. It goes somewhere deeper into the part of you that was formed in early worship experiences, into the memory that carries both the sound and the feeling attached to it. You can hear two bars of “Igwe” and be transported immediately to a specific moment: a teenage Sunday service in Lagos, a school assembly, a car journey with your parents, a Christmas gathering where the whole family was on their feet.

That is what Midnight Crew did. They did not just make gospel music. They embedded themselves into the soundtrack of an entire generation’s spiritual formation.

If you’re a Gen Z reading this right now, chances are you may not be able to relate - except you had older people around you while growing up who played it in your presence. And if you are a millennial or older, you already know exactly what we are talking about.

So what happened to them? Where are they now? And why does it feel like the gospel music scene has been a little quieter since they stepped back from the spotlight?

Let us take the full journey.

The Beginning: Four Voices, One Vision, One Yaba Classroom

Midnight Crew began its journey in November 2001, formed by four close friends - Patricia Uwaje-King, Mike Abdul, Odunayo Ojo-Onasanya, and Olugbenga Oyebola - during their university days at Yaba College of Technology in Lagos, Nigeria. 

But the story actually begins slightly earlier. These four friends had met while still in college at Yaba College of Technology in 1999.  Two years of friendship, music, and shared vision, and then on the 8th of November 2001, they made it official.

Midnight Crew, the multi-award-winning gospel music quartet was formed out of the Original Love Choir (OLC) on 8 November 2001, while Patricia was studying at Yaba College.  Pat Uwaje-King had been the music director of the school’s mass choir — the Original Love Choir — and the quartet that would become Midnight Crew was essentially born from that choir’s inner circle of exceptional voices.

Midnight Crew’s music can be described as eclectic, robust and full of character, taking something from every genre of music available to its four proprietors. The proprietors of the group, PATRICIA UWAJE KING, GBENGA OYEBOLA, ODUNAYO OJO and MIKE ABDUL have served in a number of choirs, amassing a wealth of experience for the task ahead. 

Their founding mission was clear and has never changed: Midnight Crew is a faith-based singing and music-making group positioned for putting the praise of God on the lips of all men. 

Four students. One choir room. One massive vision.

The Sound That Set Them Apart

Their sound was a fantastic blend of Afrocentric vibes and contemporary gospel such that the Midnight Crew grew to accomplish one of the most distinctive sonic fusions in the history of Nigerian music. They took the harmonic richness of four-part choral gospel, combined it with the rhythms and percussion of traditional Yoruba music (particularly fuji and juju influences), and delivered it in a way that felt simultaneously rooted in Africa and connected to the broader global gospel music conversation.

They were not just “African gospel.” They were African gospel done with the precision of a trained choir and the energy of a live revival meeting. When “Igwe” came out, the combination of the choral arrangement, the fuji-influenced percussion, and the call-and-response structure was unlike anything the Nigerian gospel scene had heard in that configuration.

The lead singer was Pat Uwaje-King and the group comprised Mike Abdul (Alto), Gbenga Oyebola (Tenor), and Odunayo Ojo (Soprano).  Four distinct vocal ranges, trained and blended, producing a sound that was greater than the sum of its parts. Pat Uwaje-King’s leadership voice, Mike Abdul’s energetic Fuji-inflected arrangements, the complementary harmonies of Oyebola and Ojo - together they created something unique that Nigerian gospel had not heard before and has not fully replicated since.

The Albums: A Complete Discography

The Midnight Crew has four albums to its credit. Here is the complete album story:

• Fusion (2003) - The group made the album “Fusion” with The Clergymen in 2003.  This was their debut - a collaboration that introduced their unique sound to the Nigerian gospel scene for the first time.
• Tungba Unlimited - Their second album, which deepened the Afrocentric fusion sound established on their debut. “Tungba” refers to the celebratory praise tradition in Yoruba music, and this album leaned heavily into that energy.
• Igwe (2008) - They released their solo debut album *Igwe* in 2008.  This is the album that changed everything. The title track became a Nigerian gospel anthem - one of the most widely known and sung gospel songs in the country’s history. The song *Igwe* has more than 4.1 million views on YouTube  — a figure that, for a song from 2008, represents extraordinary sustained reach across time.
• King of Nations (2012) - Their fourth studio album, which took their sound global and featured collaborations and performances that extended their reach into South Africa and internationally. Songs like “Kene Jesu,” “All Power,” “Turn it Over,” “So Good,” “So Worthy,” and “Next Fuji Thing” from their albums kept thousands of people responding to the joy that radiated from their ministrations.
• EZE (2013) - The group also made EZE in 2013,  an additional project that extended their body of work beyond the four primary albums.

The Songs That Defined a Generation

You asked for “Igwe,” “Kene Jesu,” and “Surulere.” Let us go through the songs that Midnight Crew gave us - the ones that became more than songs and became part of the fabric of Nigerian Christian culture.

• Igwe”** — The anthem. The one. A praise song built around the Yoruba word for “king” or “powerful one,” built on a harmonic structure that made it impossible not to join in. When this dropped, it played on every radio station, in every church, at every event. It crossed denomination lines, crossed geographic lines, crossed age lines. It remains, to this day, one of the most universally recognised Nigerian gospel songs ever made.
• Kene Jesu - One of their most beloved worship pieces. “Kene Jesu” (meaning “Praise Jesus” in Igbo) demonstrated their ability to cross ethnic musical cultures — a Yoruba-inflected group singing an Igbo phrase in a song that became beloved across Nigeria’s ethnic divides. That in itself was a ministry statement.
• “Surulere - The word means “patience has its reward” in Yoruba. The song became a go-to anthem for believers who were in waiting seasons — and its reach into everyday Christian life gave it a longevity that outlasted many more commercially driven songs of the same era.
• “All Power”, “So Good”, “Turn It Over”, and “Next Fuji Thing” each carried its own weight in the Midnight Crew discography, each serving a different dimension of corporate worship.

What united all of these songs was the same quality: they were not background music. They demanded participation. You could not be in a room where Midnight Crew was playing and remain a passive observer. The songs pulled you in, pulled something out of you, and left you having genuinely worshipped rather than merely listened.

The Awards and International Reach

Midnight Crew did not stay in Nigeria. Their music travelled.

They have won many awards in Nigeria and outside Nigeria, most notably the Best Non-UK Based Group and the Best Non-UK Song of the Year at the 2010 Africa Music Awards in the UK. 

Midnight Crew has enjoyed several enviable platforms alongside a number of gospel music greats around the world — Lionel Peterson, Mary-Mary, Kirk Franklin, Donnie McClurkin, Panam Percy Paul, Kurt Carr, Ron Kenoly, Bob Fitts, Ebenezer Obey, Israel Houghton, Tye Tribbett, Sammie Okposo, Fred Hammond and Don Moen. 

These are not names you share a stage with by accident. These are the giants of global gospel music — and Midnight Crew stood alongside them, representing Nigerian gospel at a level few acts had achieved before them.

Their all-time classic “Igwe” caused a strange godly fire through South Africa, unifying the nation in praise to the creator of mankind.  Their South African tour — six weeks, fifteen appearances, a hectic media tour — was one of the clearest demonstrations that what they carried was not Nigeria-specific. It was Kingdom-universal.

The helpless children of Koma Hills are foremost in the heart of Midnight Crew, helping to tell the world that these children still need clothes, medical care, and formal education.  Their social responsibility — reaching into the remote areas of northern Nigeria — added a humanitarian dimension to their ministry that gave their music an authenticity of lived conviction.

Individual Paths: Where Each Member Went

From the mid-2010s, the four members began expressing their individual creative callings more explicitly — not in departure from the group, but in expansion beyond it.

• Mike Abdul has built the most publicly visible solo career of the four. He co-founded the gospel group Midnight Crew in 2001, gaining fame with hits like “Igwe” before pursuing a solo career. He founded Spaghetti Records and released successful albums including *Good 2 Go*, *Korede*, and *Grateful*. His solo sound retained the Fuji-gospel DNA that had always been his most distinctive contribution to Midnight Crew, but now expressed with full creative freedom. Key releases include his debut album *Good 2 Go* in 2013, *Korede* in 2016, *Cross Over* in 2017, *Iro Halleluyah* in 2020, and his most recent album *Ojoro* in 2024.  He has continued releasing singles actively into 2025 and 2026, including “Oh Oluwa” and “Jesus Is King” in 2026. In 2021, his song “Baba Ese” ranked as the highest-streamed gospel music in Nigeria by Boomplay,  ahead of Minister Mercy Chinwo and Onos Ariyo. He is widely considered one of the most consistently productive voices in Nigerian gospel today.
• Pat Uwaje-King - the leader and co-founder, has maintained her own ministry expression. Pat Uwaje King in 2015 dropped her own solo album.  She has continued to minister as a solo artist, worship leader, and creative force while remaining the anchor identity of the Midnight Crew story.
• Odunayo Ojo-Onasanya and Gbenga Oyebola** have maintained lower public profiles in terms of released recordings, but both continue to be involved in their own church and ministry contexts.

The 20th Anniversary: A Reunion, a Tour, and a New Song

The narrative that Midnight Crew simply “reflected on their journey” for their 20th anniversary without releasing new music is not entirely accurate.

Top gospel musical group Midnight Crew embarked on a tour of the United States to celebrate their twentieth anniversary. They are also releasing a single among other projects to celebrate the milestone. 

The 20th anniversary in 2021 was not a quiet look back — it was an active celebration. A US tour. A new single. A gathering of four people who had stayed together for twenty years through individual creative seasons, through the pressures of ministry, through the natural evolution that happens when gifted people carry both individual callings and a shared one.

Over the years, Midnight Crew has made a name for themselves when it comes to celebrating their anniversaries with music releases. Back in 2018, for their 17th anniversary, they treated their fans to two amazing singles: “Good God” and “Congratulations.” For their 20th anniversary, instead of dropping a new hit song like everyone was expecting, the group also did a reflective interview where they shared insights on how they have grown over the years. 

The 20th anniversary was therefore a combination: new music, a US tour, and honest reflection. It was a group that had not broken up, had not faded out, and was actively marking a milestone with the same intentionality they had always brought to their work.

Where Are They Now? 2024–2026 Update

All four

• Mike Abdul is the most publicly prolific in this current season. His *Ojoro* album in 2024 generated millions of streams. “Ojoro” (featuring Clement Whyte) has 8.9 million views on YouTube alone.  Through 2025 and into 2026 he has continued releasing singles regularly, including collaborations with Esther Igbekele, the Adegbodu Twins, Monique, and EmmaOMG (who also appears in our Nigerian Celebrities Who Entered Ministry article). He is the CEO of Spaghetti Records and one of the most featured gospel artists in Nigeria — a title he has carried for over a decade.
• Pat Uwaje-King continues her ministry as a worship leader, mentor, and gospel artist. She maintains an active presence on social media and in ministry engagements.
• Odunayo Ojo-Onasanya and Gbenga Oyebola maintain lower-key public profiles but remain connected to the Midnight Crew story and their individual church and ministry commitments.

As a formal group releasing music together, Midnight Crew has been quieter in recent years. But “quiet” is not the same as “gone.” Their catalog remains alive on streaming platforms, their songs continue to be sung in churches across Nigeria, and their twenty-five-year legacy continues to define a benchmark for what Nigerian gospel music can be at its highest point.

The Legacy: What Midnight Crew Built for Nigerian Gospel

It is worth pausing to name specifically what Midnight Crew contributed - because in the nostalgia of missing them, it is easy to romanticise without being precise.

• They professionalised Nigerian gospel group music. Before Midnight Crew, Nigerian gospel groups existed, but Midnight Crew operated with a level of vocal training, production quality, and artistic intentionality that raised the bar for every group that came after them.
• They demonstrated that Afrocentric sound could carry global gospel. In a season when the dominant influence on Nigerian gospel was primarily American - Kirk Franklin, Donnie McClurkin, Fred Hammond - Midnight Crew insisted on their own Yoruba-inflected, fuji-rooted Afrocentric sound. And that sound connected not just in Nigeria but in South Africa, the UK, and the US.
• They served the church, not the market. Their music was not calibrated to trends. It was calibrated to worship. Songs like “Igwe” and “Kene Jesu” were built to be sung in congregations, not just consumed on headphones. That communal usability is why they lasted in the hearts of Nigerian Christians long after the albums stopped coming regularly.
• They mentored the generation that came after them. Mike Abdul’s role as a producer and collaborator in Nigerian gospel has been enormous. Today, he is among the most featured artists in the genre precisely because other artists want what he carries. That knowledge, skill, and energy was developed within Midnight Crew before it was shared through his solo work.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) About Midnight Crew

Here are a few Frequently asked Questions about the Midnight Crew

• Did Midnight Crew break up? No. Midnight Crew never officially disbanded. The group was founded on 8 November 2001  and its members have never publicly announced dissolution. From the mid-2010s, individual members pursued solo projects while still identifying with the group. They celebrated their 20th anniversary in 2021 with a US tour and a new single.  The group has simply been less active collectively in recent years while members focus on individual ministries.
• Who are the members of Midnight Crew? - Midnight Crew is made up of Patricia Uwaje-King, Mike Abdul, Odunayo Ojo-Onasanya, and Olugbenga Oyebola.  Pat Uwaje-King served as lead singer; Mike Abdul (Alto), Gbenga Oyebola (Tenor), and Odunayo Ojo (Soprano)  formed the harmonic quartet.
• What albums did Midnight Crew release? - The group has four primary albums: Fusion*, *Tungba Unlimited*, *Igwe*, and *King of Nations*,  plus the additional project *EZE* in 2013. Their most famous album is *Igwe* (2008), which contains their breakthrough title track.
• What is Mike Abdul doing now? - Mike Abdul released his most recent album *Ojoro* in 2024  and has continued releasing singles through 2025 and 2026. He is the CEO of Spaghetti Records, one of the most frequently featured artists in Nigerian gospel music, and continues to be one of the genre’s most productive and influential voices.
• Where did Midnight Crew form? - Midnight Crew was formed during the university days of its four founding members at Yaba College of Technology in Lagos, Nigeria.  The group was formed out of the Original Love Choir (OLC) on 8 November 2001. 
• What was Midnight Crew’s first hit song? - While their catalog across four albums contains many beloved songs, it was their smash hit “Igwe” that brought them into the spotlight, earning them both national and international recognition.  The song is from their 2008 self-titled album and remains their most recognised work with more than 4.1 million views on YouTube.

Conclusion: Legends Never Really Leave

There is a category of artist in every music tradition that transcends their active commercial period and enters a different kind of existence: the permanent influence. The artist whose work outlives the trend that produced it, whose songs keep appearing in the most unexpected and moving moments long after the billboards have moved on to someone else.

Midnight Crew is in that category for Nigerian gospel music.

“Igwe” is twenty-five years old and it will be sung in Nigerian churches at the next Easter service, the next crusade, the next prayer vigil. “Kene Jesu” will be on the lips of women in women’s fellowship meetings in Aba and Ibadan and Kano and London. “Surulere” will minister to someone this Sunday who does not know who recorded it originally and will go home transformed by a song that was written before they finished secondary school.

That is what Midnight Crew built. Not just a discography. A vocabulary of worship that Nigeria has absorbed so deeply that it now feels like it was always there — like the songs emerged from the culture rather than being placed into it by four students at Yaba College of Technology who came together on the 8th of November, 2001, with a mission to put the praise of God on the lips of all men.

They succeeded. Wildly, generationally, permanently.

Midnight Crew didn’t fade away or have beef - they simply evolved. They gave us unforgettable music when we needed it most, and the individual members continue to pour back into Nigerian gospel through their solo work, their collaborations, their production, and their mentorship.

That’s what true legends do.

Which Midnight Crew song hits you the hardest? Drop it in the comments.

 

 

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